No-Limit Texas Hold'em Tips (Part I)

See also

• Online Limit Holdem Strategy
• RAZZ Tips

Not too many years ago, no-limit Texas Hold'em was not a ring game you could find in every casino that spread poker. Nor was it an overly popular tournament event.

Today no-limit hold'em is one of the most popular games (live action or tournaments) available, that's the good news, and it is the most misplayed game in the history of the poker universe - that is the bad news, all because of TV.
The basics of no limit are simple to understand, that's why everybody and their dog is joining in on the fun. However, it is the most complicated version of poker to play successfully.

The following are simple, easy to understand strategy tips on how to play no-limit hold'em that if properly administered will help you on the road to recovery. If you will devote yourself to correcting your wrongs, you can even except to live a long, healthy, and prosperous poker life.

• What you should ask yourself in a game of no limit is how much should I bet, rather than how much can I bet. The biggest mistake is how new no-limit players overbet or underbet the pot.
• Do not just pick up a stack of chips and splash them in the pot. Think! How much should I bet? You're goal should be to maximize your wins but minimize your losses. This takes some thought.

Example: You have pocket aces under the gun. Now why on earth would you make a huge bet, run off all your customers and pick up only the blinds?

• You do not want to waste the profitability of your big hands because these hands normally are rare. Your goal should be to get one or two callers. Raise approximately three times the big blind. If someone raises you, reraise about the size of the pot.
• In your quest to maximize your winning hands and minimize the losers, you need to know what hands to play and from what position. To make these decisions, there is no better information you can accumulate man knowledge of how your opponents are playing.

Example: You have an A-Q in middle position. Most players automatically would call or raise with that hand, but your opponents and how they play should determine if and how you play this hand. If you are at a very tight table, you may want to put in a raise of approximately three times the big blind. On the other hand, if there is a rock at your table who is to act after you and you can tell that he is going to call or raise, let this one go and wait for an better opportunity to get involved. If, against your better judgment, you decide to call because you believe A-Q to be a playable hand and then the rock raises you, now what? You know he has a better hand than you. Let's say you call his raise "just to see the flop" and you flop an ace. You bet, the rock raises, now what?

• More money is lost on A-Q and A-K man any other hand. Players seem to think this is a nut hand. Remember that deuces beat it preflop. We're not saying steer clear, not at all, but if you flop nothing and there is action, that is the time to let it go.
• There is nothing wrong with calling occasionally, and sometime it is the proper play, but if you always enter a pot with a call, you will never be a big winner. Aggression is important, especially in no limit. Calling is not aggressive. However, always be selectively aggressive. And always think about your position.